The Rose Situation
by m.brown
Summary: Why did he have to leave a rose under her windshield? Why was she so mad about it? Some unresolved feelings and insecurities arise due to Leonard's unprompted romance, and Penny doesn't know how to deal with them. Got the idea from 9x02 so slight spoilers! One-shot.


**I guess this is sort of an alternative take on some unresolved feelings Leonard and Penny have about their relationship. Loosely based off of them talking in 9x02 about their insecurities in their marriage. Enjoy!**

It all started with that stupid rose. That beautiful, thoughtful, annoying rose.

About twenty minutes after Leonard had left for work, Penny got ready to leave herself. She locked the apartment door ready for an uneventful day of trying to sell potentially hazardous drugs to doctors and walked down to the parking lot towards where her car was parked only to be stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing a rose and note under her windshield wiper.

 _I hope you have a great day today. I love you. –Leonard_

It wasn't an earth-shattering gesture or anything. He had done plenty of romantic things for her in the past, and he had performed this exact act many times before now. And the note wasn't anything incredibly romantic; it just said that he hoped she had a good day today and that he loved her. That's what most husbands and wives say to each other on a daily basis, right?

So why did her hands grip the steering wheel so tightly this morning? Why did she feel like flower staring at her from the passenger's seat? Penny tried to clear her thoughts and focus on her first potential client today. Dr. Kenner. She was trying to get him to switch to a new anti-depression medication. Studies had shown in a group of fifty that the medicine had been twice as effective as other top of the line medications. Possible side effects included headaches, vomiting, nausea… God, why did she feel nauseous? What was _wrong_ with her today?

Penny steeled herself and pushed her confusing emotions and thoughts aside for the time being. She pulled into the parking lot of the medical practice that Dr. Kenner worked at and took a few deep breaths. She had to snap out of it. She was a good saleswoman, she knew this drug like the back of her hand, and she had even worn a low-cut shirt today knowing that the doctor had just recently divorced his wife. She was ready.

But not fifteen minutes later, she was back in the car. Penny groaned and banged her head against the steering wheel. How the hell had she screwed that up? It was like she couldn't control the mess of discombobulated words that came out of her mouth. Hell, Dr. Kenner even tried to prescribe her anxiety medication that _she_ had sold to _him_. Feeling rather annoyed with herself, Penny called work and made up a story about how she got sick during her meeting with Dr. Kenner and had to go home.

When she pulled back into the parking lot, she turned off the car and sat for a moment. Penny looked at the rose again and picked up the note. She read it again and again, but could not for the life of her figure out what made her so angry about it all. Was it too mushy? Too try-hard? No, she had enjoyed his random acts of romance in the past. It was one of the many things she loved about her "romance ninja" of a husband. Sighing, she picked up the card and flower before getting out of the car and heading back up to her apartment.

As Penny climbed the stairs, she decided that she would treat herself to a relaxing day. Leonard and Sheldon wouldn't be back until 5:30, so she had the entire day to do whatever she wanted. That thought made her smile. As much as she loved her friends and husband, it would be nice to do something that didn't involve comics or science or honestly, anyone else.

When she reached 4B, she unlocked the door and shut it behind her before throwing her keys on the shelf by the door. Penny tossed her purse on the couch and placed Leonard's thoughtful surprise on the coffee table. Did the rose need water though? She walked to the cupboard and grabbed a cup to fill up with water before plopping the flower in. She set it up on the counter and sighed.

It was just a rose. And a note.

Deciding that needed to get away from the cause of her frustration, Penny walked to her bathroom and started the bath. She was going to take a bubble bath, light some candles, put on some music, and relax. After rummaging through her cabinets, she found what she needed and set everything out before slipping into the hot water. Her body immediately relaxed upon entering the water, and she thought her mind would too, but it didn't.

Thoughts kept racing through her stupid little brain. He was being sweet. He was being romantic. So why did she want him to stop? It's not like she wanted Leonard to ignore her or not show any affection towards her. In fact, she _loved_ when he paid attention to her. Penny knew that she had him wrapped around her finger and that with a simple sway of her hips she could get that man to rob a bank for her.

After twenty minutes of trying and failing to relax, Penny gave up and drained the tub. She blew out all of the candles and dried herself off before finding a clean pair of sweatpants and one of Leonard's t-shirts. She smiled as she pulled it over her head and brought the fabric to her nose. It smelled like him and that was comforting to her. Despite the fact that the rose situation still bothered her, all she wanted right now was to curl up in his arms on the couch. So his shirt and a big blanket would have to do.

For the next several hours, Penny sat on the couch and binge-watched chick flicks, romantic comedies, and her (and every other woman's) all-time favorite romance: _The Notebook_. She didn't know why she watched it when she in fact knew every single line, something she didn't like to admit aloud, but she did anyhow. It was familiar to her and she enjoyed watching Noah and Allie fall in love.

Penny wondered what it would be like to watch her and Leonard fall in love. Sipping her wine, she thought it over. She would have done everything _so_ differently. She wouldn't have pretended not to have feelings for him when they both knew she did. She wouldn't have let him go to the stupid North Pole. She wouldn't have broken up with him for saying, "I love you." God, what was _wrong_ with her?

As she mulled this over, the doorknob jiggled and she watched as Leonard walked in the door with a smile on his face.

"Hey you," he said sweetly before walking over and giving her a peck on the lips. "I brought home Italian. Thought we could switch it up a bit."

"Oh, good idea," Penny said as she sipped her wine. Leonard placed the bag of takeout on the counter and hung his bag on the back of one of the bar stools before walking over to get a wine glass for himself. As he took one down, he noticed the rose he left on Penny's car this morning peeking out of a faded Nebraska Huskers cup.

"I'm happy to see you got my note this morning," Leonard said happily as he poured himself a glass of wine and sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

"Yep," Penny said, unconsciously popping the end "p". Leonard furrowed his brow at her and sat up a bit.

"Are you okay?" he asked tentatively. He knew she wasn't on her period since she had just finished her cycle last week, so there was obviously something else bothering her.

Penny was hesitant to answer. No, she wasn't okay, but she had absolutely no logical reason to be upset. So what was she supposed to say?

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just blew my sale with Dr. Kenner this morning and kind of took the day off to try and make myself feel better, but it didn't really work," she said before getting up to get another glass of wine. Better yet, she should just bring the bottle over to the couch. She was going to need it.

"I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?" Leonard asked.

"I don't know, I just couldn't concentrate. I felt distracted and annoyed and I stumbled over all of my words so much that he tried to prescribe me the anti-anxiety meds that _I_ sold to _him_!" Penny exclaimed. She lingered at the counter, not wanting to go sit back on the couch with him. She felt like she couldn't be near him at all right now.

"Everyone has an off day. Don't beat yourself up about it, okay?" Leonard suggested. Penny shrugged and took a big gulp of her wine before staring intently at the bottom of her glass. She felt tears begin to prick at her eyes and had absolutely no idea why.

"Penny, what's really going on?" Leonard said as he stood and began to walk towards her. "What's wrong?"

"You and your stupid rose and your stupid note are what's wrong!" Penny finally yelled. Leonard looked mostly taken aback by her declaration, but she saw the flash of pain in his eyes and it cut her deep. "My day was fine until I saw them on my car! Then I couldn't make a sale, I couldn't take a bath, and I couldn't even appreciate my favorite movie because of it!"

"Penny, I'm sorry if I upset you. I thought that you liked those things…" Leonard said softly, trying to apologize for something that she couldn't even rationalize for needing an apology.

"I do! That's the problem," she huffed. "You do the sweetest things for me and I do absolutely _nothing_ for you in return."

There it was.

It was the one thing she wasn't ready to admit to herself. She didn't do anything for him. She wasn't a good wife, she wasn't a good friend, she wasn't a good _anything_ to him.

"That's ridiculous," Leonard said from across the counter. He knew better than to try and come near her when she was angry like this, but he still felt the strong urge to pull her into his arms and never let go. "You do more for me than you know."

"Really? I don't do romantic things for you. I can barely cook, my apartment is always mess, and now I can't even do my job," she said. "I constantly joke you and the things you're passionate about, I flirt with other men to get what I want, and I never have any idea what you and our friends are talking about. I'm a superficial, stuck-up bitch who doesn't deserve you."

Penny's outburst left an uncomfortable silence in the apartment, but Leonard was too shocked to answer. He was still trying to process everything that she was saying to him and couldn't actually believe that Penny, his best friend and wife, thought so lowly of herself.

"Is that really what you think?" Leonard asked. She wrapped her arms around herself and shrugged. She knew if she even opened her mouth, that would be it. She would melt into a puddle of tears and let him hold her, but she wouldn't get the closure she needed from him.

"Penny… I don't know what to say, I mean, I married you for God sake-"

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

"Yes, but _why?_ "

"Are you asking me to tell you why I love you?" Leonard asked. Penny nodded slightly and bit her lip.

"I just need to know. I need to… understand."

Where to begin? And how did she not know? How did she not understand how much she meant to him? Jesus, he had been in love with her from the first time he saw her; he didn't think he could put it into words. But when Penny's eyes started to water at his silence, he blurted out the first thing he thought of.

"You sing in the shower."

She looked at him quizzically and frowned. As if _that_ was an appropriate response to that question.

"You're not very good at it, but I love hearing it because I know you're comfortable enough around me to do it," Leonard explained. "You're passionate. You'll never give up on acting even if I or anyone else tells you to quit because it's too important to who you are as a person."

Penny stood there frozen. She didn't know what to say, or if she could even speak for that matter. Singing in the shower? Acting? Those weren't exactly defining characteristics.

"You always smile when you first wake up in the morning, even though you claim to not be a morning-person. You always make sure to ask how my day was and ask what I did at work, even if you don't understand it all. You subconsciously grab my hand in public when you see other guys looking at you and you aren't ashamed to tell people you married me."

"Leonard, why on Earth would I be ashamed of you?" Penny choked out. Tears were already streaming down her cheeks listening to say these wonderful things to her and she hated that he felt that way. How could he? Leonard swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in his throat and took a shaky breath.

"Because you're beautiful, Penny. I'm just some short nerdy guy who somehow managed to get you to not only go out with him, but to fall in love with and marry him. _Me_ instead of some tall, muscular, good-looking guy that you should probably be with. You're one of the most compassionate people I've ever met and you have never treated me or Sheldon or Howard or Raj like we were a different species. You actually care about us and don't just use us to get whatever you want. If we're being truthful, I don't think _I_ deserve _you_."

"Leonard…"

"Why do you think I do all of those romantic things? Sometimes I wake up and wonder if you're going to snap out of it and leave me one day," he admitted. "It's hard being with someone like you and wondering what you even see in me."

"What do I see in you? God, Leonard, you're the best person I've ever met. The way you're able to put up with Sheldon, despite how infuriating he is, because you know his brain is wired differently than the rest of the worlds' is something I can't do. You're the smartest person I know. You take the time to leave me beautiful notes and romantic surprises like the one I just yelled at you about…"

Penny looked up across the counter and found him staring lovingly back at her with a sad smile etched upon his face. She was an idiot. God, she was an idiot. Wiping her wet cheeks with his shirt she still had on, she walked over to where her husband was standing and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and molded herself to his frame when she felt his arms wrap around her. He rubbed soft circles on her back and gently kissed the top of her head before pressing his cheek to her hair.

The two stood in a tight embrace for a few moments before Penny broke the silence.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"I'm kind of happy that you did," Leonard admitted. Penny pulled slightly away and looked at him like he was crazy. A soft smile formed on his lips and he chuckled. He let his arms drop from around her, but pulled on her hand and led her towards the couch where he sat down and stretched his legs out before beckoning her to sit on his lap. He held his wife close as she curled up on his side and laid her head on his chest. He lazily let his fingers play with her hair, something he knew she loved, and closed his eyes.

"You telling me your insecurities about our relationship made me come to terms with my own reservations. I'm happy that we talked about it," Leonard explained.

"But what do we do about it?" Penny asked softly. She pushed herself up so that she was able to look at him. He opened his eyes upon feeling her move beside him and inwardly smiled. Despite the fact that she had been crying, he couldn't believe how beautiful Penny was. Especially in his shirt.

"We tell each other the truth. Penny, you are my best friend, my wife, and the love of my life. I have been in love with you since the first moment I saw you and I swear there is no one else I would rather spend my life with than you."

Penny captured his lips with her own after hearing those sweet words come from his mouth. Half of her wanted to kiss him and the other half wanted him to just shut up so he wouldn't make her cry again. She gently cupped his cheek and pulled away far enough to meet his eyes.

"That's good because I love you too," she said before kissing him again. Then she grinned and wiggled her left ring finger in front of his face. "And you're stuck with me."

"I don't know… I hear a lot of Vegas marriages have a high divorce rate," Leonard said nonchalantly. Penny raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him to continue, but he quickly dropped the cheeky smile on his face. "Right… not the time and place, sorry."

"You're lucky you're cute," Penny said with a kiss. "And sweet and kind and anything I don't tell you on a regular basis."

"You don't need to tell me anything," Leonard said dismissively. "But I wouldn't mind a rose on _my_ windshield every once in a while."

"Don't push it."

Leonard leaned up to kiss her once more and the two settled into a comfortable position. Penny slid her hand into his own and smiled when he brought it to his lips for a brief moment. How in the world she ended up with this man was beyond her comprehension, but she wasn't going to question it anymore. She was just going to thank whatever force in her life brought her to the apartment across from his so many years ago.

"Leonard?" she murmured.

"Hmm?" he sleepily replied.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Not giving up on me."

Leonard craned his neck down to kiss her forehead before he settled back into the pillows.

"Didn't then, won't now, never will."


End file.
